Whale of a Tale
by Una la Volta
Summary: (AU) They are the Marauders, a Robin Hood-esque band of pirates known across the seas. He is Remus Lupin, neither pirate nor scourge, and he is not entirely sure he wants anything to do with them, particularly with First Mate and Quartermaster Sirius Black snooping around. But it's a high-seas adventure filled with sword fights, mystery, and intrigue.


_Chapter One_

"Listen, Sirius, do you really think this is a good idea?" Eyes as blue as the sky overhead glanced for a half-moment over to the lanky and battered-looking frame leaning against the railing of the ship before returning to peer into annoyingly stubborn gray eyes. "I mean, we hardly know the fellow and I'm not sure I like the cut of his jib. What's his name again?"

"Come off it, mate. He's perfectly harmless and he's handy with a line. Besides, do you honestly think he could hurt either of us, or anyone else on this brig?" Sirius paused and looked at the person in question before looking back at his conversation partner. "Lupin, he said his name was. Didn't, ah…quite catch the first."

The question was, admittedly, a very fair one. The young man gazing out across the deep blue waters of the ocean below was rather thin, wounded, sickly-looking, and lacking in substantial visual muscle and James would not have believed him capable of even climbing up the mainstay if he hadn't seen it for himself with his own eyes.

"I s'pose not… S'a rather queer name, Lupin, yeah? Uncommon, like."

"What difference does his name make, James? I'm black only in my soul, or so say those charming posters, and you can't make pottery to save your life. Remember, you tried- as a bet with those birds off the coast of France? As I recall, you lost your trousers and a great deal of your dignity when they found out you had a small pri-"

"Shut up, Sirius, before I tie your hands and pitch you overboard."

"Whatever you say, Captain." And so, with a jaunty little wave and a mocking grin on his face, Sirius Black, scourge of six of the seven seas (they hadn't quite made it over to the Orient just yet), left his good fellow in pursuit of less prickly prey.

Said prey seemed, for all appearances, to be ignoring his new crew mates, eyes locked on the churning sea as if in deep thought. Sirius moved to lean against the railing as well, throwing his eyes to the clouds. They were fluffy and white and promised for happy sailing if no one did anything to annoy the sea spirits. "Thinking of drowning yourself? Or did you see a mermaid in the water what's promised you untold amounts of pleasure? Mind you lad, those two go hand in hand, so keep a level head."

The newcomer practically jumped out of his skin and his breath hitched in his throat. The thin skin covering his neck fluttered madly as his heart rate spiked and then came back down, his chest heaving as whatever demons he kept locked inside tried to beat their way out. He threw a half-wild look at Sirius before settling, the haunted shadows behind his eyes retreating behind a heavy curtain of gold.

'Strange eyes the boy's got, too,' Sirius thought to himself, not displeased. He liked the color gold- it was the color of doubloons and a color that promised rum, food, and limitless pleasure.

"Oh, no. I was just lost in my thoughts, that's all. Don't mind me," he mumbled and slapped a forced grin onto his mouth. The ropey man turned gingerly, consciously minding injuries, so that his back was to the sea, his eyes resting upon the mainstay.

"…Not thinking about bolting up there again, are you? I don't bite," Sirius teased, eyes dancing wickedly. He immediately felt guilty for saying such because the other man flinched like he'd been slapped and looked wild again, looked like he wanting nothing more than to do just as he'd predicted.

Lupin forced himself to relax, sucked in breaths of salt air through his nose, and offered a slightly more genuine grin. "Promise? I enjoy climbing. If there's something I'm meant to be doing, please tell me. I…I don't like feeling idle."

Sirius furrowed his brows but tried his best to keep his tone and expression nonchalant as he looked at the sandy-haired sailor sidelong. "Are you sure you're up to work? I mean, you were in pretty bad shape when we picked you up at the dock. What exactly happened, if you don't mind my prying?"

His head bowed forward, light brown hair falling to cast a shadow over his face, obscuring it from Sirius's view. "I'm sure, and I do mind. It's nothing though, really. I've been through worse," Lupin insisted, a definite hard edge to his voice.

Shocked, Sirius's mind tripped forward into the mystery of the injuries the other man had had. He healed remarkably well in such a short amount of time, a trait that James had found to be very admirable upon later reflection, but hadn't said a word as to how he obtained such wounds. They had been looking for a few new crew mates after having lost a few on the last big storm but didn't have much luck the whole day long until they were getting ready to leave. It was Peter who'd come across the frayed shape of the bleeding man and Peter who alerted Sirius and begged him, with all of the softness in his heart, to help the poor bugger out.

Reluctantly, and making Peter swear to keep it hush-hush from James, he agreed to take him on board where they dressed his wounds, which numbered great. There were multiple injuries that looked like bite marks from a very large dog all over his arms and legs, several long gashes across his torso, scratches on his face, and even something that looked like a bullet had grazed his shoulder. Within minutes of being tended to and force-fed tincture of opium, the man had been out like a light, sleeping as if he hadn't had a decent night's rest in months.

That morning Peter had gone in to check on him and see if he was awake for a bit of breakfast, but before he could so much as cross the cabin to get to the hammock, their patient was up and had sprinted the length of the ship to practically fly up the mainstay as quick as anything. Getting him down had been a real treat and had only been accomplished when Peter, with his gentle face, promised no harm would come to him.

Of course, the commotion roused the good Captain James and he'd thrown a right fit about a stranger being taken aboard his vessel overnight. He and Sirius got into a long row about the dangers of such _mutiny_, James called it, but eventually Sirius won- he won a lot of the arguments- and the man was permitted to stay on the promise that he would join the crew as payment for such kind treatment.

Lupin, as they learned his name to be, protested vehemently and said that he had wanted nothing to do with the crew and had not asked to be taken care of, but when baited with the smell of warm horse meat, he relented and signed his life over. He reasoned with himself that he could stay until he was back into shape, get a few good meals into his belly, and then jump ship when next he saw land which, he hoped, was within the month.

"You're bleeding," Sirius observed and reached out to wipe it from the man's cheek. However, before he could so much as come within a foot of him, Lupin side-stepped along the rail and took care of it himself, leaving a streak of bright crimson on the less-than-clean sleeve of his shirt. "I can have Peter restitch it if you'd like, Lupin," the black-haired pirate tried again in slightly more soothing tones, having caught the nervousness radiating off of their newly-pressed member.

Lupin fixed him with a rather curious look, his eyes not hiding the inner workings of his mind, not masking the turning of the gears in his head as he weighed the situation, the pros and cons of agreeing. Finally, he gave a short nod. "If it wouldn't be too much of a bother."

A tanned hand flapped in the air and Sirius scoffed. "A bother? Oh please. That's Wormtail's—that is, Peter's, job, lad. Or one of them anyway. C'mon, let's get you all poked and sewn back together. One little stroll out on deck and you're already falling apart on me!" His tone was light and his smile stretched across his face, a tiny dimple appearing on his left cheek like a secret, winking for a moment and then disappearing.

Making the walk down the length of the ship, _Gryffindor_ was her name, did not seem to Sirius to be too taxing on his new crew mate. Lupin did draw a fair amount of attention, though. He was tall, for one thing; not overly so, but enough that he stood a head taller than Sirius, an average bloke, and he walked strangely. Where Sirius's strides were long, graceful, and rather proud, Lupin's were more subservient, like he wanted to hide and had an edge to every step that let on that he was ready to dive overboard if he was given any chance or reason to do so.

'Like a wild animal,' Sirius mused as he watched the sluggishly bleeding man from the corner of his eye.

Some of the notably superstitious (more so than the average sailor) men tensed or scattered away out from underfoot, though Sirius wasn't sure why. He merely guessed that they were just nervous about the mysterious newcomer on board.

Sirius rapped on a cabin door and opened it without waiting for a confirmation, holding it open for Lupin while watching him carefully for any signs of overt distress. The man made it in alright, though he certainly looked more skittish and nervous than before now that there were four walls around him and a closed door to deal with. Sirius couldn't imagine why being in an enclosed space would be troubling for someone—it wasn't like the cabin was overly small and while some sailors couldn't handle stable house living after being on the sea, this was hardly a house. The sea still rolled under their feet, after all.

"Hey Petey, Lupin here needs a quick stitch, mate. Hey—wake up!" Sirius snapped, kicking the leg of the chair that the man was dozing in. The chair was sent off-balance and toppled over backwards, effectively waking Peter up.

The round-faced man scrabbled to his feet and blinked his watery blue eyes several times as he tried to get his senses about him again. He scowled at Sirius but his expression softened when he saw Lupin looking even more terrified and practically pressed against the door. "I'll uh…be right with you, then." His lips lifted in what he hoped was a comforting smile and he patted the wooden table in the middle of the cabin before bustling around to get his supplies.

Sirius offered Lupin a large calloused brown hand to help him onto the table, but the man seemed disinclined to touch anyone if he could help it. Lupin tried to climb onto the table and would have succeeded if not for the crippling pain that shot through his torso when he turned to sit. He would have slid down onto the deck if not for Sirius who acted quickly and grabbed him under his arms, hauling him carefully to his feet. "Whoa there, mate! Easy now!" he said, concern laced through his voice. "Peter, don't just stand there! He's obviously hurt!" Sirius growled at the gawking man.

Lupin tensed the moment he was grabbed, but did not seem able to do anything further. He allowed himself to be picked up the short distance to be sat on the table and even tolerated the hand on his back. His face was pale though and his eyes panicked and stormy, every muscle in his body strung tight as a bow. "I'm fine. It's nothing," he insisted with a gruff voice.

Peter, for all of his other characteristics, was not so stupid as to believe sailors when they insisted that they were 'alright'. It was usually a load of crap and when they said that, they were always hurt more than they even pretended not to be. He pulled a dark bottle from a drawer and poured an opaque liquid into a battered cup, offering it to Lupin. "Bollocks. Drink this, it's just tincture of opium," he assured, baffled that the man actually sniffed at it.

Lupin decided that it was safe enough and downed the entire dose, enjoying the candy-like taste as it slid down his throat. After a minute or two the drug took effect and he relaxed some, enough that Sirius was able to gently guide him down to lie back on the table after Peter's direction. Peter heated a needle over the flame in the lantern hanging from the ceiling and threaded the needle. "Hold his head please, Sirius."

Sirius nodded and gently took hold of Lupin's head, marvelling at the lack of fear in his eyes. Well, opium did wonderful things even in its liquid form that was used for medical purposes. He studied the amber eyes below him before Lupin fell asleep curiously, detecting bright gold and hazel green flecks intermixed with the predominant color. They looked like nice eyes, especially when they weren't clouded by terror. Lupin was a young man, there was no denying that, but this close to him Sirius could see silver strands of hair threaded through the light brown and there were faint wrinkles lining his forehead and a gauntness to his face that Sirius wondered about.

Life as a sailor was never easy, especially when one was a pirate, but Lupin just looked worn out. Sirius wondered what it was Lupin had gone through to make him that way, which affected him so deeply. But even drugged to the point of not feeling pain, Sirius knew that Lupin wasn't going to tell any secrets.

They had tried to get the truth out of him when they first found him, tried to pry his story out of his lips while he was loopy with the opium. But whatever his secret was it was one he was intent to keep, which only made Sirius want to know it even more. He had refused to tell them anything regarding his given name, his past crew if he had one, where he was from (Peter said his accent sounded coastal), and if he had any sailing experience or who had hurt him so badly. But everyone had their skeletons and if they wanted to keep them locked in closets, that was their business.

Peter leaned over the injured man and wiped a cloth over the wound to clean up excess blood before pushing the needle through one side and out the other. He worked quickly and soon had the gash stitched up and tied the thread off. "While he's under, I'm going to check his ribs," he told Sirius.

Freckled hands pulled Lupin's shirt up towards his chin and neither Peter nor Sirius could keep the horrified gasps that fell from their mouths at the sight. Last night, the lighting had been dim and faltering so the extent of the man's injuries hadn't been overly apparent then. But now with the sunlight streaming through the windows and the light from the lanterns, it was truly a gruesome sight.

"Shit," Sirius breathed, gray eyes wide. Whoever this Lupin fellow had been before they found him, he was not a peaceful sort. His torso was covered in scars of varying ages. There were the new injuries that they knew he'd just acquired a few days ago, but some scars were a few months old and others looked like they had been there for years. Some of them, the older ones, were different than normal scars, Sirius thought. Old scars like the ones he himself had were usually pretty faded and a few shades lighter or darker than the rest of the skin, but Lupin's had a silver sheen to them.

"Looks like our friend here was quite the rumbler," Peter murmured, shaking his head. As much as he wanted to look at the mangled mess that was Lupin's abdomen and figure out what they came from and when, he had a mission to accomplish. He ran his hands very gently along Lupin's ribs, searching for any abnormality. There was one close to his left lung and he frowned, looking over at Sirius. "He has a broken rib."

It was Sirius's turn to frown as he met his friend's gaze straight on. "What do you mean? Why didn't you see it last night?"

"Well, it's quite likely that it was broken before the other injuries happened and his stunt this morning irritated it again. Bones take longer to heal than flesh wounds and you can't exactly put a broken rib in a splint," explained Peter with no small amount of sass; he was not always so easy to walk over. He got a length of bandage cloth from his desk and wrapped the entirety of Lupin's ribcage with it with Sirius's help to lift him up some. "That should do the trick. Make sure he stays in bed for a while; in an actual bed or on a cot if possible. Those hammocks will just mess it up again," he instructed.

Sirius went to pick him up when the door slammed open and a very put-out looking Captain James Potter entered the cabin. "What the blazes is going on? I've searched this entire bloody bark for my fucking first mate and I find him _here_ playing doctor with Wormtail and what's-his-face!"

"…Lupin."

"I don't care what his name is, Peter! What the hell are you doing, Sirius? I was looking for you! And why is his shirt off?"

Sirius hurriedly pulled the rest of Lupin's shirt back down to cover his bandages and scowled at his best friend, looking quite surly about the whole matter. "His shirt wasn't _off_, it was just _up_. I am here because Lupin was bleeding and needed stitches and he has a broken rib. And now I am going to put him in a bed so he can sleep and _then_ I will listen to your crack-pot ideas, James. Excuse me," Sirius growled. He picked up Lupin's limp and too-light body and shouldered past his stunned captain and bemused lob-lolly boy to go to his own cabin. All of the cots on deck were too disgusting for Sirius to feel alright with putting an injured person on them and while his bed wasn't the most comfortable of places for anyone to sleep, it was still a bed and a flatter surface than the rope hammocks.

He pulled the blankets back and placed Lupin beneath them after removing his shirt. Sirius tugged the covers back over the man and took a few steps back, sighing softly. "Whatever hurt you, it won't get you again. We look out for our own here, mate, don't worry," he whispered then left the small room.

Sirius found James interrogating Peter in Peter's medic cabin and rolled his eyes when the man tried to turn on him.

"I never should have let him stay! So far he's been nothing but trouble and he's using up my precious supply of tincture of opium! That stuff isn't cheap, Black!" James snapped, blue eyes practically wild. "He's like a bird with a broken wing and I can't believe you let Peter talk you into nursing him back to health. He's not a puppy, Sirius. He's a grown man whom we know absolutely nothing about and I ought to keelhaul you for this."

"Yeah, but you won't. Mostly 'cause your mum would kill you; you know how she fancies me. He'll heal and be of good use, Jamie, I promise. You saw how he shot up the mainstay this morning. Not even our ship's boys are that fast, mate. He obviously knows his way around a ship. Lupin just needs a little while longer to rest, right Petey?" Sirius defended and looked at his plump friend in hopes for a little back up.

Peter looked from James to Sirius and cleared his throat nervously. He was very close to James since James had always put up with him and got him the position as a doctor of sorts on the _Gryffindor_. "Well…he certainly has healed rather quickly so far, faster than anyone I've encountered before. I m-mean, the decision is up to you in the end but…" he trailed off, eyes darting to and fro.

James sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "He gets two more days to make himself fucking useful around here. Now come on Black, we have things to discuss. You're still my first mate, remember?"

Sirius just grinned and slung his arm over James's shoulders, winking at Peter. "But of course, Jim my darling. What dastardly deeds are we going to get up to this time?"


End file.
